Networking - A Convergence Tool for a European Area for Higher Education

ISSN： 1469-8358

Source： Higher Education in Europe, Vol.26, Iss.1, 2001-01, pp. : 117-121

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Abstract

This article suggests that the first step towards making the European Area for Higher Education a reality, as called for by the Bologna Declaration of June 1999, is for universities to form networks. These can consist of many types with many aims and scopes: local networks, national networks, continental networks, and global networks. The need for networking is driven by the communications revolution, deregulation, and enhanced global competition in a world that increasingly commoditizes educational offerings. Networking in such an environment is at least a survival mechanism, but it also becomes a form of product and efficiency enhancement. A serious barrier to networking in Europe is the multiplicity of languages. Two solutions to this problem, other than the eventual development of high-performance translation technologies, is institutional linguistic networking and the development of generalized trilingualism.